- •Warming-up
- •4.1.3 Read the following verbs.Mind their meaning.Pay attention to the principal forms
- •4.1.4 Find the proper Russian words with the same roots as the following English words
- •4.1.5 Choose the proper English word
- •4.1.6 Find the English equivalents of the following Russian words
- •4.1.7 Read the following word-combinations and translate them into Russian
- •4.2 Read the text and give definitions of different structural elements Text 4 a Structural Elements
- •4.3 Exercises to the text
- •4.3.1 Find the false sentences using the information from the text. Correct them
- •4.3.2 Complete the following sentences
- •4.3.3 Match the beginnings of the sentences to their ends using the information from the text
- •4.3.4 Choose the sentences describing: a) beams; b) shells
- •4.3.5 Translate the passage describing various types of beams in written form
- •4.3.6 Ask your partner the following questions. Listen to his/her answers
- •4.4 Read the text Text 4 b Leaning Tower of Pisa Begins To Be Stabilized
- •Text 4 c Foundations
- •2 On what kind of ground have towns and cities appeared?
- •3 What is the function of pile foundations?
- •4 Can piles be made without using building materials?
- •4.6 Read the dialogue in pairs
- •5.1 Pretext exercises
- •5.1.1Read the words. Pay attention to the letters in italics
- •5.1.2 Read the following words. Mind their meaning
- •5.1.3 Read the following verbs. Mind their meaning. Pay attention to the principal forms
- •5.1.4 Find the proper Russian words with the same roots as the following English words
- •5.1.5 Choose the proper English word
- •Russian
- •Lime, wood, brick, cement, stone, steel, concrete, glass, gypsum, plastics
- •Text 5 a
- •Wood is the most ancient structural material. If is light, cheap, easy to work with and its mechanical properties are good. But it has serious disadvantages: it burns and decays.
- •5.3 Exercises to the text
- •5.3.1 Find the false sentences using the information from the text. Correct them
- •5.3.2 Find sentences describing concrete
- •5.3.3 Match the beginnings of the sentences to their ends using the information from the text
- •3 Bricks are early fastened together… c) in the properties desired by the engineer.
- •5.3.4 Complete the following sentences using the information from the text
- •5.3.5 Ask your partner the following questions. Listen to his/her answers. Don’t forger to change over
- •Text 5 в timber
- •5.5 Read the text. Find the key sentences in all passages of the text. Render the text in Russian Text 5 c Reinforced Concrete
- •Steel constructions with reinforced concrete have become the most important building materials invented in centuries and they have given modern architecture its peculiar features.
- •5.6 Read the text and speak different features of aluminum. Give your reason of its usage in construction
- •Text 5 d
- •Aluminum in Structures
- •5.7 Write a summary of the following text in English
- •5.8.1 Read the dialogue in pairs Dialogue 1
- •Dialogue 2
- •5.8.2 Work in pairs. Interview your partner as an expert in building materials. Use the words and expressions from the texts you have read
- •5.9 Audial practice
- •From the History of Concrete
- •5.10 Summarize your knowledge of the question under consideration. Speak on the different aspects of building materials
4.4 Read the text Text 4 b Leaning Tower of Pisa Begins To Be Stabilized
According to calcutations by Paolo Napoli, an engineering professor at Torino Politechnic, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is predicted to fall over between 2030 and 2040.In a race against its inevitable demise, engineers began reinforcing the base of the tower in summer of 1992.
In 1975, a competition was held to find ways to shore up the tower, but ended without a decision on how to proceed. Shortly thereafter, city officials stopped the pumping of water from nearby wells, finding that it caused the Pisa Tower to tilt further.
Other complex preservations strategies proposed in 1988 called for temporarily supporting the tower by a pair of steel braces untill hydraulic jacks could be embedded around the foundation to prevent further shifting. If that strategy failed, an underpinning structure of steel micropiles connected to brackets was to anchor the tower underground, transferring its load.
In 1992, a team of Italian engineers began implementing a simpler stabilization plan, suggested by Napoli, which applies a vertical force on the northern edge of the tower׳s base, opposite its tilt. The stabilization theam excavated down to the footings of the building and then poured concrete and lead shot into the foundation to counterweight the upended base. In three months, the engineers have managed to reverse the tower׳s position by 0,3 degrees, according to results unveiled at the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering Conference.
4.4.1 Choose the sentences which correspond to the contents of the text
1 Paolo Napoli predicted the Leaning Tower of Pisa to fall over between 2030 and 2040.
2 Engineers began the reinforcement of the tower in summer 2000.
3 City officials allowed the pumping of water from nearby wells.
4 Paolo Napoli suggested a stabilization plan of the tower.
5 The engineers have managed to reverse the tower's position by 0,3 degrees.
4.4.2 Ask your partner some questions about the strategies to reinforce the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
4.5 Read the text to find answers to the given questions
Text 4 c Foundations
1 What is an ideal stratum for building?
The durability of a structure depends on how the foundation is built and on the property of the ground.
The loads that a structure imposes on the ground normally reach the ground through walls, piers or columns.
Ideally, if the ground surface is a firm stratum of natural rock, able to take the loads directly without noticeable settlement, the walls, piers and columns can simply be ended when they reach it. Unfortunately such strata have rarely been found in the places where men have wanted to build.
2 On what kind of ground have towns and cities appeared?
Our ancestors could not even imagine on what kind of ground we should build.Towns and cities have appeared in places where there had recenty been swamps, on the permafrost ground of the northern regions of the country. Therefore, some means have had to be provided to spread the loads more widely or carry them down to rock or firmer ground at a lower level.